Support Tourism, Support Your Economy

As world leaders meet to discuss a sustainable
way out of the current economic crisis, many governments and
decision makers still have some way to go before they recognize
tourism as a sector which can be a relevant factor of the economic
recovery.

Raising the profile of tourism in both the
political and public perception is a critical element in
increasing awareness of the sector’s economic potential as an
efficient provider of employment and the way forward to the Green
Economy.

Close to one billion international tourist
arrivals per year generate millions of jobs. Travel and tourism is
one of the few sectors that cuts across the economy mobilizing
employment, investment and sustainable development opportunities
for emerging economies.

“We are weathering the storm,” said UNWTO
Assistant Secretary-General, Geoffrey Lipman. The global economic
downturn has taken its toll on international tourism, “but we are
resisting the worst that the deterioration of the market place is
delivering. We will come back, stronger than we have been before,
different than we have been as a sector, and those people who are
understanding how to do this with us collectively, they will do it
better.”

In this context, UNWTO collected different views
to further mainstream travel and tourism in the global economic
agenda – a challenge that UNWTO has been facing with increasing
success:

Zoheir Garranah, Egyptian Minister of Tourism:
“(Unfortunately) today a lot of countries don’t understand how
important tourism is. The most important thing is to solve today’s
problems with solutions that will last and will pay back in the
future.”

Pedro Ortún, Director of the Directorate-General
for Enterprise and Industry, European Commission: “If we are able
to put together the public and the private actors at the global
level, which is the dimension of the UNWTO, it could (help to
overcome) the crisis.”

Jürgen Ringbeck, Senior Vice President - Booze
and Co: “It is very sad to see how weak political support for the
tourism sector is, specifically in the more developed countries.
(Tourism) is the key platform to connect the world and transfer
wealth from developed to developing countries.”